Australia

---

Our underwater camera had broken earlier in the trip and we’d posted it to a repair shop in Perth, pleading with them to fix it before Christmas. We had to call to say it was ready so Nitin took us to collect it and treated us to a sightseeing tour afterwards.

First we stopped at Kings Park - a beautiful and huge park on a hill overlooking the city. The main part of the park had manicured lawns and large trees lining the road, with panoramic views. Further around the park it turned into dense bush and felt like a completely different place.

After driving around and being shown more districts and beaches, we went to a large marina called Hillarys, which felt a little like Port Solent or Gunwharf but it had it’s own sandy beach. Even on Christmas Eve the shops were quieter than they would be on a Saturday back home. I could have happily done some shopping but managed to restrain myself! When Nitin asked what type of food we fancied for lunch Matt immediately said fish and chips so we found a take away café with tables outside and ordered some fish and chips wrapped in paper. It felt so strange tucking into it sitting outside in the sunshine knowing it was Christmas Eve!

After a bit more touring around we went back home as Jo was about to finish work. Matt and Nitin went out to ‘play’ football but ended up in the pub instead. I stayed in with Jess and Jo and we played some festive tunes while they finished off the present wrapping. Afterwards it was time for more bond films. It’s comforting to see that Australian tv is similar to UK tv at Christmas!

---